Car design evolves alongside the technology that’s under the metal. Each era of car design can usually be defined by a type of style. The cars of today are often angry blobs while trucks, crossovers, and SUVs have lots of sharp edges, bulging bodywork, and hoods taller than the Sears Tower. As styling evolves, many cues get lost along the way. What styling cues would you love to see make a comeback?
If you haven’t noticed, I’m a huge fan of past car design. Sure, all of my cars are modern rides, but I drool over what used to be. I love classic British motorcycle design and I live for the aircraft carrier deck-length metal and the sharp fins of the 1950s. I adore how the country was so obsessed with the jet age that cars got afterburner-style taillights and the model names made references to rockets, jets, and space.
I mean, just take a look at what a modern Chevrolet Impala looks like:
And what you used to be able to get:
You know what? I’ll take that cute dress, too. It’s amazing how far some nameplates have come from their origins. It’s also really neat how the modern car tries to nod to the past, just look at the beltline in the rear there. But, I bet they could have gone a step further; add a bit of space.
The 1950s traits of huge fins, dazzling lights, miles of chrome, and bold colors capture every bit of my heart. Some of this stuff, like massive fins, might not work well in the modern day. But I’d love to see that space-age enthusiasm again. Give us cars that look like they were formed at Mach 1 and with lights that look ready to blast you off into space. Oh, and please give us bold colors without ripping us off for them!
Another era I love is the 1930s and early 1940s, when automakers experimented with streamlining and touches we would call Art Deco today.
Cars looked like teardrops flowing through the wind and they were adorned with elaborate, but classy brightwork. Automakers even put in a huge effort in the cab with relatively intricate door panels and dashboards that were as functional as they were beautiful.
I have no idea how any of this stuff could be implemented in the modern day. I suppose the Hyundai Ioniq 6 is a good example of a modern streamliner. I’d love to see Art Deco with a modern twist.
How about you? What’s a design era or some styling cues that you’d love to see on a modern car?
(Topshot: GM)
I know it will never happen for safety reasons, but I wish we could have narrow pillars again. It’s really something to be able to see out of the sides and back of your car.
Also, I have a soft spot for two-tone paint.
I liked the convertibles with the cover over the back seats, like the 60-62 Thunderbirds had…
Actual, functional aerodynamics e.g. rear wheel skirtsSidewallSliding doorsMore “scrappy, happy” styling, less angry faceColorsVisibility all around
I’m curious what you mean by this.. I’m under the impression that aerodynamics are as engineered and influential now as they ever have been. Low drag aero for fuel economy – especially EVs, and really impressive active/passive performance aero on halo sports cars.
I’m not the resident armchair expert on aerodynamics – that would be Toecutter. However I’m under the impression drag isn’t as low as it can be or has been:
Making a car with a very good drag coefficient is actually rather easy. The 1939 Schlörwagen hit a Cd of 0.186, better than anything on the road today! However, just like anything in engineering, you’ve got to make compromises. Sure, there’s got to be a few fights with other departments (like the greedy rust loving cooling engineers wanting all the flow to keep the engine cool), but the constraints also come from the aerodynamics of the car itself. See, another aspect of vehicle aerodynamics is lift/downforce, which matters for planes and cars alike. But that’s a story for another time!
https://www.theautopian.com/im-a-french-aerospace-engineer-and-im-going-to-teach-you-about-car-aerodynamics-drag-coefficients/
(The good news here is the greedy rust loving cooling engineers won’t need nearly as much flow to keep the motor cool in an EV. Even a REX should be happy with less flow)
And it matters (same rules apply to kWh as gallons)
Less frontal area would help a lot too. SUVs and trucks may be practical but they are not great on aero.
Max Schenkel, technical fellow of aerodynamics for General Motors, told Edmunds that a change in the drag coefficient of just 0.01 changes the combined fuel economy of a vehicle by 0.1 mpg. If you drive 150,000 miles with a vehicle, that one-tenth of a mile per gallon adds up quickly. At $3 per gallon and 30 mpg, you could save up to $1,000 driving that 150,000 miles.
https://www.thompsonsales.com/how-do-vehicle-aerodynamics-change-gas-mileage/
Some yes, however trucks and SUVs tend to be pretty lousy on aero and that’s what people in ‘Murica buy the most.
My point is I’d like to see more REALLY slippery, hopefully pedestrian friendly cars on the road than enormous, angry faced bruised ego compensators.
The wedge. (think Lotus Esprit) And pop-up headlights. Because wedge.
Wild sticker packages. The 70’s “Tape specials” with great graphics. or the 80’s Hi-Tech graphics that said things like “TWIN CAM” along the entire bottom of the doors. Big bold stripes down the side of a pickup truck.
We are starting to see these show up a little bit… but we need more of them!
Yes yes yes! Graphics packages are awesome and probably very cheap to implement.
Small wheels. Huge wheels don’t just feel awful, they look bad too. They’re crass and make otherwise attractive cars look overcooked. As Vee-Dub once said, “it’s time to un-pimp ze Auto!”.
Also, interesting cloth interiors. A torch carried today by just the seat inserts in the Golf GTI and special-order 911 GT3’s, we once had exciting patterns from the headliner to the floormats in everything in between as well. Nobody can convince me that a single-tone, single-texture black interior makes the GR86 a better car.
White steering wheels! I only have them in three of my six cars.
I miss those European headlamps that have glass lens with optical diffuser flutes and pattern along with the reflectors and such.
Restraint. Just bring back restraint.
Late/last model SAAB 900 2-door hatchback. Coupe, wagon & pickup all in one.
Some one probably already mentioned it, and I am not sure if it exactly counts as a styling cue but I would like to see metal bumpers come back. Minor accidents should not cost absurd amounts to repair. Also we should not have to look at or live with Camry dents.
Elegance. Period.
I’m tired of the angry origami.
I’ve got a twofer. More two door cars and two tone paint jobs.
Pretty interiors. If an economy car in the 60s could have a padded dashboard, sculpted metal styling cues, and pretty chrome details, all while using interesting colors and textile patterns, then there’s no reason all modern cars should have dull greyscale interiors made of amorphous plastic blobs. Yeah, I’m going to say it, the vast majority of modern car interiors over the past 20 years are boring, ugly, and lifeless. And that’s the part of the car you actually touch and sit in, which makes it disgusting that that’s the worst part of the whole vehicle.
I’ll admit that modern cars can beat old ones handily in terms of performance, reliability, economy, and safety, but my old ’66 Thunderbird spoiled me for all other automotive interiors. That thing was a downright beautiful place to sit in, every aspect of the interior was just as carefully and lovingly designed as the exterior, every detail suggesting that the car came from some kind of space-age utopia – all that and it was a lovely dark red too.
And if you wanna argue “but crash safety,” they were already thinking about that in the 1960s – every surface you could whack in an accident was padded and there was nothing overly pointy, plus it had seatbelts before seatbelts were required by law (though they were only lap belts, to be fair). Put a steering wheel with airbags in that interior, add some crumple zones and a collapsible steering column, and it would still be beautiful and inviting.
It breaks my heart that the current trend in interior styling is to remove the “styling” part entirely, leaving you with an ugly brutalist shelf and an iPad in the middle and actively removing physical controls rather than finding fun and elegant ways to integrate them like in the old days – making cool and exciting switches, levers, and knobs for things used to be celebrated, what the frick happened???
The way you get me into an EV is not with enormous range or fast charging or a low MSRP. Give a crap about the interior design so it’s as enjoyable to spend time in as my almost 60 year-old antique, and then we’ll talk. They just don’t build car interiors like they used to…
More 3 and 4 spoke wheels would be pretty cash money, especially with the boxier options coming out in recent years.
Hatchbacks, cars like the current Mustang would allow so much more versatility if it were a hatchback. I used to be able to haul all sorts of stuff in my 77 Skyhawk back in the day. My current 09 Mustang GT/CS, I can squeeze my bike in the trunk with the seat folded down and front tire off but its a challenge sliding it in, but would be so much easier if it was just a hatch.
Do you know those three intersecting creases on the side of 90% of new cars? You know the ones that make it look like a UPS truck backed into you very gently? I’m sure they have a name. I mean, other than expletive Bangle expletive expletive. Oh, and the bulge down at the rocker panel that looks like it’s trying to grow a running board but only catches dirt. Could that go? Please?
Oh wait, we’re supposed to be asking for stuff we want not stuff we despise?
How about chrome trim around the windows?
Even better yet, how about real windows that you can see through instead of those fake windows it just cover up sheet metal in the back?
I’d rather have gloss black or no trim around the windows if they’re going to keep giving us cheap “chrome” – plated plastic that peels and distorts after a few years.
Amber. Turn. Signals.
Paint colors for all makes and models that are not black, white, gray, or silver.
Interior colors beyond black and greige.
Visible lights: many new models have front lights hidden inside the front bumper area, and lights in the rear bumper area. Some of these lights are alarmingly small and/or angled in such a way that seem like they might violate FMVSS (looking at you, Toyota RAV4, Sienna, and Honda odyssey).
Non-“floating” roofs.
Body-colored roofs. WTF is up with black roofs? Are automakers trying to bake the occupants of their vehicles?!
Rear doors and roofs on midsize and larger vehicles (especially crossovers) with enough clearance for average and taller-sized adults to get in and out of without becoming contortionists. My gen-1 XC90 does this superbly (as does the new EX90 I recently sampled), but an I-Pace, EV6, and Mustang Mach-E (admittedly not the best examples, but they’re ones that got stuck in my head, probably from the mild concussions they gave me) all seem exclusively designed for shorter humans to be in their second rows, or perhaps those that are somehow stepping up into it, rather than ducking sideways and/or down into. I’ve had easier times getting into the second row of many coupes than some of these new crossovers. I mainly ferry around fellow adults across the age range, so second-row ease of ingress/egress is critically important to me.
Tires with sidewall heights greater than the width of an adult’s hand, if not larger. Tires are the first part of a cushioned ride and a functional suspension, and lacking sidewall denies physics a chance to do its job.
Big heavy (and generally ugly) wheels, especially with tiny sidewalls. Small wheels yield bigger sidewalls. There’s still plenty of room for brakes, plenty of room for nice designs, and plenty of leeway for aero. Not to mention smaller wheels tend to weigh less and get damaged less easily. And as for handling prowess, tire sidewalls can be quite stiff if needed. The McLaren F1 had 17″ wheels front and back (and 45% aspect ratio sidewalls!). That’s more than good enough for most any other car since, though I’ll give an allowance for those that do have bigger rotors and calipers (the 16″ platters on the latest GT500 come to mind).
Maybe vent windows, but in such a way that they’re not liabilities in a crash. Maybe (ugh) powered ones at the base of the A-pillars near the mirrors?
Crotch-level HVAC vents.
5-mph bumper covers that actually can survive a 5mph or less bump without requiring replacement because the plastic tabs stretched or some other baloney. More for my customers than me.
Body-colored roofs. WTF is up with black roofs? Are automakers trying to bake the occupants of their vehicles?!
Even better than just light color, add in a IR reflecting pigment:
https://precisioncoatingsinc.com/products/specialty-coatings/reflect-3000-reflective-paint/
Stepside beds on full sized trucks! We NEED to bring that back!
Vent windows.
Absolutely.
For starters, the car companies need to hire real car designers. It appears that GM, Ford and a few others only have monkeys with computers drawing the same overpriced electric trucks. When real car designers are brought on board, then we will see vehicles with style, character and uniqueness.
For both electric and non-electric trucks:
Ford and Rivian have nice truck designs.
DodgeRam’s are OK; not quite handsome, not quite ugly, but at least they’re readily identifiable as a Ram. The new Frontier is also OK.GM, Toyota, and tesla need to go back to design school.
In general, the whole industry seems to be using the same design book. Like the current crop of design managers all went to the same crummy art school with a sadistic professor who wanted to inflict the most amount of visual chaos on the world while they had a moment of influence.
Thank goodness for bastions of generally consistent good taste like Mazda, Jaguar, Aston Marton, and some of the near-bespoke makers like GMA and such.
How about lower pickups that don’t look like they are ready to tackle the Rubicon. A hood that can be seen over, cabs that are at least a foot shorter (nobody needs 4’ of legroom in the back seat), a longer bed that can be loaded from over the side by people shorter than an NBA center. The old, 60s era Chevy C10 with coil rear springs are just an airbag away from offering a 1600# load capacity.
They still make Gabriel HiJackers.
Install a pair of those and have the spring shop remove a couple of leaves.
There are too many other objectionable things about new pickups, but that worked great on a 75 F150.
Not a fan of the Hi Jackers, they weren’t a very good shock and put too much stress on parts that weren’t designed to take heavy loads. The Chevy truck arm/coil spring was better able to be beefed up, tho GM didn’t use them for the 3/4 ton models
I had airbags on my 69 Chevelle convertible, along with a set of KYBs that were great, for towing a house trailer. There was not a lot of choices for the Ford, and it was an occasional use only sort of thing.
Mind you this was an ex farm truck that my father would abuse by sticking a couple railroad ties between the axle and the bed and then putting a set of caterpillar tractor treads in the back, which must’ve weighed at least 2 tons.
A little known loophole in California is that farmers don’t have to observe weight limits if the trip begins or ends at a farm. It is best to avoid anything that looks like a farm truck on the road where inertia having its way might be a bad thing.
For that matter in New York, you don’t even need license plates if you’re driving between farms. A friend has a farm in the Hudson Valley, but also just happens to own some farmland near Montauk and some other farmland near Rochester so he’s pretty much legal any place in the state.
Any air shocks you would recommend for when bags aren’t appropriate?
I can’t think of any. Firestone and AitLift make kits to put aux air springs on leaf spring trucks. I’d recommend not getting one that go on top of the axle, as they decrease the available suspension travel to an uncomfortable level.
I’m a big fan of clean and simple unadorned surfaces. That, said, and I understand it’s no practical, I kind of miss forward canted grills.
Forward canted grilles look amazing, like the car is lunging forward. I get that the aerodynamics are questionable and it’s probably not the best for pedestrian crash safety, but neither are modern pickup trucks and those are still around.*
*Don’t give the pickup trucks forward canted grilles though, that would be not good…
Your points are aligned with mine. I’ll probably get crucified here by David and his fan base of dozens, but I think the Jeep Gladiator that did this looked thoroughly stupid, so you’re right about pickups too. Although, I don’t think the cant was it’s styling failure, it was the other ersatz and out of proportion nonsense going on in the nose.
Pop up headlights. Fuck them pedestrians!
Pop up headlights and interiors in colors other than tan or somewhere on the white-black continuum. Hood ornaments, too. Man, I’d like to have a Ram head on the front of my Ram truck!